The Pokemon Adventure
by Megamind-loves-Roxanne
Summary: My first Pokemon fanfic. Not based on the show or on the game. It stars me and some other people. Some I made up and some are people I know. Did you ever wonder what it would be like if Pokemon were real? Well, you'll find out in this story. Please review


"The Pokemon adventure" ****

Hi everybody. I wrote this story quite a while ago but after a while of debating with myself, I decided to post it up. It's not based on the cartoon, but on real life (sort of). It's the kind of story that tells you what it would be like if Pokemon were real. I hope you like it. I know, I know, it's long, but remember, I wasn't really planning on posting it so I made it all one story. I will have the rest out as soon as possible but don't count on it being this long. There is no way I'll be able to do it again. Oh, and I hope this is okay but the story stars me and some other people. Some people in this story are real while others I made up. Enjoy this part!

"The Pokemon adventure"

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own this story and the characters.

It was a beautiful day in the small town of Hollister while the children went to school like any other day. Nothing was different in this boring everyday life. Only once and a while would there be something exciting going on in this little town of everyday people where the only thing people worry about is their own boring life. Nothing was exciting about this town and barely anything exciting happened…till now. Or so they thought.

On the day of May 25, 2001, Hollister, and the entire world would never be the same. Everybody in the little town of Hollister was going about their daily business when out of the sky came a bright light that covered the entire world. Everyone stopped what they were doing and tried to watch the strange light but it was too bright to watch. It only lasted about 20 seconds anyway. Once it was over, all the people in the world wondered what that strange light was. Many news reporters from different companies were already on the investigation of the bright light although they knew there probably wouldn't be anything about it yet.

The scientists of the world were just like the reporters; they were already on the investigation of the bright light that came from the sky and lit up the entire world. They began their investigations although they had no clue where to start.

On this particular day children from all over the world would receive something very special. A gift from the light.

For Jessica, her cousins and her brothers, the day would be the beginning of something special. They were about to receive something unlike anything they've ever seen. Jessica was walking towards her school, San Benito High School, when she heard a noise coming from a bush in front of the one the houses. Jessica knew that the neighborhood was not one of the safest ones and her heart raced and she decided to run to school instead of walk.

The day was a pleasant one; the sky was blue with barely any clouds, the temperature was in the 80s, and everyone was happy. Everyone except Jessica who was still a little freaked out about the noise in the bushes. She had spent all morning wondering what it was and if she had checked, what would have happened to her. It bothered her all throughout the morning. Her brother Junio had felt that something was wrong with his sister but he decided not to ask about it. If she felt like telling him, she would.

Once school was over, Jessica was debating with herself if she should go through the neighborhood where she heard the noise when a car pulled up next to her. She recognized it immediately as her grandma's car so she climbed in as they drove through the street where she heard the noise. As they did, Jessica gave a quick glance towards the bush and ducked when she saw that it moved. 'Good thing my grandma picked me up. I didn't really want to go walking through this road' Jessica thought as she turned her attention to a book she was reading in class. The movement in the bushes stopped.

*****************************************

On the weekend, Junio joined Jessica and her grandparents towards Cosco since Jessica asked him. They drove through the highway with trees passing by as though they were people standing on a curb. Cars were also passing them since her grandpa was going about 50 miles an hour on a 65-mile-an-hour highway. Jessica hated it when her grandpa went as slow as a snail. Why couldn't he just pick up the pace?

Jessica and Junio were having a nice conversation, laughing and joking as if they were some brother and sister who hadn't seen each other in years. Junio suddenly remembered about that feeling he had in the library while he talked with her. The one that felt like something was bothering her. "Jessica," Junio interrupted while they were laughing, "what was it that was bothering you yesterday?"

Jessica's face turned questionable. "Nothing was wrong." Her voice had a certain cold edge to it.

Junio squinted his face and was glad that his grandparents didn't understand english. "Don't lie. I felt like something was bothering you."

Jessica's lips curved into a smile and she briefly closed her eyes with amusement. "I guess I can't fool you." She sighed heavily but quietly. "As I was walking to school, I heard this noise in the bushes and it scared me. I thought it was some guy hiding out in the bushes, waiting for some helpless girl to pass by so he could do something to her. It was a good thing I didn't check if I was right. Who knows what could have happened to me." 

"That's all?" Junio said without worry and with relief that that was all.

Jessica glared at him as she felt her grandpa pick up some speed. "What do you 'That's all'?"

Junio turned his head to look out the window and admire the scenery before him. Hollister was close to the mountains and in the spring, they were beautiful. They were full of so much vegetation and life. Especially now that it was spring. He saw people who lived out here watering their gardens. "I thought something more important was bothering you."

"I can't believe you," Jessica responded as she turned her attention to the same book she had yesterday. She was a bookworm and she was the type of person who always had to have a book in her hands. She was only interested in romance books (much to the disgust of her brother).

They were silent throughout the rest of the trip until they reached Cosco.

Her grandpa stopped in front of the main entrance so that her grandma wouldn't have to walk through the parking lot and Junio and Jessica got off as well.

The Cosco was a huge gray warehouse with huge letters on the side that read 'Cosco'. The letters were red while a blue line ran all around under it. People went in and out of it like bees came in and out of a beehive. On the side of the Cosco was a restaurant that served junk food like pizza, soda, pretzels, ice cream, etc. The Cosco wasn't like a regular store. Everything that a store sold, Cosco sold about five times as big. That's why Jessica's grandma went there almost every week.

As Jessica was getting down from the car, she spotted something small and red on the ground. It was shiny and round and for a second Jessica felt this excitement shoot through her like an arrow. She bent down to pick it up and held at a distance in front of her. As she examined it, she realized that it was a poke-ball thrice the size of an M&M, maybe a little bit bigger. 'This must have fallen out of a toy that some kid just bought. Although I've never seen any toys in the Cosco that might have come with a poke-ball. Cosco doesn't even sell toys' she thought as she stuffed the poke-ball in her pocket. She decided not to show it to her brother because she knew that he would want it. 

She followed Junio and her grandma inside, keeping her mouth shut the entire time about the poke-ball.

****************************************

Bubbling noises and explosions could be heard all around as people in white suits walked from one room to another carrying paper or dangerous materials in their hands. The rooms were dark and full of computers with genetic codes flashing on the screen as the people in white suits investigated and wrote down anything important. Some were even trying to change a certain code when it didn't work.

One man, with his graying brown hair and goatee, typed up genetic codes on his computer trying to decode any information that could be useful to figuring out what that white light in the sky the other day was. The room was stuffy and hot so the man took off his glasses for a while and wiped at his forehead while he used the other hand to continue typing.

A woman in her twenties who had just graduated from college came in and brought him a glass of ice water. Her hair was black and short like a boy's and her dark eyes had a certain passion in them for science. The temperature in the room had been set to the lowest it could go but with all the equipment, the room remained hot. She set it down next to him and frowned when he didn't even utter a "thank you". She turned with the tray in her hand and walked out of the room. She was growing increasingly curious over what the man was working on. She knew he was trying to find out what the light was but she wanted to stay and join him to try to figure it out. Unfortunately, the man had asked the board to let him work alone on this one. He said that he could figure it out without anyone's help. Much to the woman's sadness, the board had accepted and had told the other scientist's not to bother him since they knew he could do figure it out. He was the most respected scientist in the whole institute. When the light hit, the woman had gotten a certain fascination over it and wanted very badly to work on the subject. She had decided to abandon all her other projects.

The woman walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

***********************************************

Once Junio was dropped off at his house and Jessica was in the safety of her room, Jessica took out the poke-ball from her pocket and examined it more thoroughly. Nothing about it had changed but Jessica was still curious about it. Jessica had a feeling tugging at her that wouldn't seem to leave her alone. She knew the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat' but she just couldn't leave the subject alone. 

Jessica turned the poke-ball until the white button was facing her and not letting fear get the better of her, she pushed it. She didn't know why she felt fear but it was what she was feeling when she finally found the courage to push the button. She shouldn't have been afraid. All the ball did was grow larger until it was the size of a baseball. Excitement took over the fear and she pushed the button again. Slowly but surely, the poke-ball opened up like some tiny spaceship and Jessica was hoping that some mystical creature called a pokemon would pop out but in that she was disappointed. 

She sighed and closed it up. She was hoping with all of her heart that her life would stop being some boring routine and become exciting. She walked over to her desk and placed the poke-ball inside. With one last sigh that was even heavier than the first, she closed it.

*****************************************************

For Jessica, the weekend was even more boring than usual. She figured it was the poke-ball's fault. She had spent her weekend doing the usual: homework, typing, playing PlayStation, etc. She was even more tired of it than before. She lay down on the floor in front of the television screen on Sunday night and surfed through the channels until a news report caught her attention. Jessica hated the news but they were talking about the bright white light from Friday so Jessica watched. It was a news reporter talking with some scientist that was aging and had brown hair and the male reporter, with his buzz-cut hair, had said that the scientist with the goatee had been the only one researching the subject:

Reporter: So, what is it you've found out exactly about the light?

Scientist: All I can say is that this light was nothing any human could have done. It may have been caused by some alien who decided to make contact with us and flashed that light so that they could show us that they existed.

Jessica rolled her eyes at the scientist. She believed in aliens but for some reason, this man didn't give her a good feeling. She felt like he was hiding something. She turned off the TV since she couldn't bare to listen to any more from some boring scientist obviously had no imagination and all he could say was that the light was caused by aliens. That's everyone's excuse when they see something in the sky. It could have been something else.

She was startled when someone knocked on her door lightly. Knowing whom it was, Jessica got up and wasn't surprised when it turned out to be her Aunt Eli. "Hey. What's up?"

Luis was at her side like always. "Want to go to Albertson's? It's better than hanging out here all day."

"Sure." She followed her aunt out of the house while Jessica held onto Luis' hand. The night was a cold one so Jessica had made sure to get her jacket before she headed out. It gave her plenty of warmth since it was so thick.

"Did you check out the news today when that scientist was talking about the light that flashed on Friday?" her aunt asked in order to strike up conversation. All the people were in their warm houses watching television.

"Yeah but I turned it off after the first question because the guy was talking about aliens being the cause of it. I didn't believe it for a second."

Her aunt turned her head to look at her, wonder shining in her eyes. "But what else could it have been?"

Jessica shook her head, sending her long curls flying all around her. The glow from the lampposts they passed gave her hair a soft glow. "I don't know but for some reason I don't feel like aliens were the cause of all of this." Luis was tugging at her arm, trying to get Jessica to let go but Jessica just held on tighter and didn't let him go.

A light breeze whooshed when they reached Albertson's and Jessica stopped when she noticed a building next to Albertson's that was under construction. Jessica didn't see any sign that said what the building was going to be. Plus, she didn't see that building there before. It was as if the building magically appeared next to the store. It was already half complete and that struck Jessica as odd.

The building looked like it was being constructed to take the shape of a huge greenhouse and it had towers that had leave-shaped flags swaying with the wind. 

"Where did this building come from?" Jessica heard her aunt ask. Upon seeing the building, Jessica had totally forgotten about her or Luis who was watching the building with them.

Jessica gave no answer to her aunt's question. Instead, she approached a chubby old lady with two bags of groceries. "Excuse me ma'am but do you know how this building got here? I don't remember seeing it here on Friday and already it's here as if it's been here for months."

The old woman shook her head. "I'm sorry young lady but it puzzles me as well. Everyone at the store has been talking about it but nobody seems to know how this building came to be so quickly."

Jessica thanked her as her confusion grew. The wind was becoming stronger and colder so Jessica had to hug herself to keep warm. The nights had never been this cold. Eli approached her and placed a hand to her arm. She was holding onto Luis' hand with her other. "We should go. The night is too cold for Luis. I don't want Luis to catch a cold."

Jessica agreed and they left towards home as the wind increased. Before leaving, Jessica gave one last glance towards the mysterious building and was left wondering what was going on. 'Everything has gotten weird ever since that light flashed throughout the world. What is going on?'

*************************************************

On Monday, Jessica headed to school walking since the day was much warmer than the night had been. In fact, the day was so hot Jessica didn't even want to walk to school. It was worse than summer. Jessica had come in her shorts and tank top. She wiped her forehead with her sweater that she had foolishly brought and continued walking towards school. At least she was comforted with the fact that it was almost summer vacation.

Jessica was so caught up in her own thoughts that she had completely forgotten about what happened on Friday when she was walking through the neighborhood with the bush.

She walking through there when she was interrupted from her thoughts by the same rustling in the same bushes, just like it happened on Friday. Her knees began to shake and the same fear ran throughout her entire body. She no longer felt hot. She felt as cold as she had last night. She couldn't even move. It was as if she was stuck to the sidewalk. Jessica hoped that someone was nearby so that if she screamed, someone would be able to come rushing to her in order to help her.

Out of the bushes emerged something Jessica had only imagined in dreams and seen on the TV. It stood at around a foot tall and a foot long. It was green all over and it had dark green bumps all around its neck like a necklace. On its head was a leaf that swayed like the flags on that building near her house. It eyes were big and oval shaped. The background of the eyes were white while the main part was a ruby red and the middle was black. The fear drained away from Jessica and excitement took its place. Her hands went to her mouth to keep her from screaming as she stood there watching the cute little animal that didn't appear fury at all.

"I can't believe it," she whispered to herself. "It's a Chikorita." 

The cute little pokemon watched her with a smile on her cute little face before she finally decided to approach Jessica without fear. "Chiko," she said cutely while she raced towards Jessica. She rubbed at her leg as if it were a cat. Jessica glanced all around and her eyes widened as she saw all the kids of Hollister running around with excitement and others with fear as pokemon of all different types chased them. Some ran with the pokemon and Jessica figured it was either because they were pokemon fans who were happy that they were real, or because they weren't afraid and although they weren't fans, they were still enjoying this. Others did run from fear and Jessica thought that it was from the complete opposite of the other kids. They weren't fans and they were afraid. Especially since some of the pokemon were ghost type. Jessica could tell that the pokemon were happy at seeing kids and that all they wanted (even the ghost pokemon) was a friend.

Jessica glanced down at Chikorita and her lips curled into a smile. She couldn't believe that they were now real and in this world. 'This would explain what that light on Friday was. And it also explains why that building next to Albertson's mysteriously appeared.' She giggled to herself. 'And to think that the that scientist couldn't even figure it out with all the brains I'm sure he has.' Suddenly, worry hit her like a punch. 'What will happen to the pokemon once the scientists discover this? It won't take them long before they see a pokemon for themselves. Will they capture them and experiment on them? Will they toss them into zoos like animals? I can't allow this to happen!' Jessica bent down and scooped up Chikorita into her arms. She petted the tiny pokemon and continued onward to school.

**********************************************

"WHOA!" her brother exclaimed when he saw the tiny Chikorita. Everyone at Jessica's school had heard about the pokemon being real and many had ditched school in order to go capture one for themselves. Some didn't even care but Jessica could see it in their eyes that they were still excited since it was a break from everyday life. The pokemon craze was exploding.

"I just couldn't believe it when I saw it," Jessica commented as she looked at Chikorita. The library hadn't allowed Jessica to bring the animal in since they were afraid of it going in there. That was when she began to wonder if pokemon even went to the bathroom. "To think I thought she was some guy who wanted to do something to me." The thought amused Jessica as well as calmed her.

Junio couldn't even talk. He kept staring at the tiny pokemon, making her uncomfortable. Chikorita hid her head in between Jessica's arms. Jessica noticed this and hit him on the head to get his mind back on Earth. He rubbed at his head and glared at Jessica as he heard the bell ring.

Jessica was in panic. "Oh great. The bell. What am I going to do with her while I go to school?"

"Well," Junio began as he brought his hand down towards his chin, "you could command her to wait for you somewhere. If she is your pokemon from now on then she'll listen."

Doubt was read all over Jessica's face as she stared down at the little pokemon who smelled of trees and fresh air. Chikorita's skin felt like a hairless dog or cat. She could feel the bones and everything and it didn't feel any different than any other animal. "I don't know. What if someone wants to take her?"

"Set her down and test her out."

Jessica hesitated a little before she softly placed Chikorita on the floor and began walking. Jessica had her eyes glued to Chikorita and sure enough, the little pokemon began to follow her. "Stay Chikorita," Jessica ordered. To Jessica's surprise, the little pokemon stopped and sat down. Jessica also stopped and walked back. She wasn't amazed that the tiny pokemon had listened because she had the feeling that Chikorita picked her for a reason. Jessica was now Chikorita's trainer. She bent down and petted the tiny pokemon. "Now listen to me Chikorita. I want you to do something for me. Can you please stay here and wait for me?"

Chikorita watched her for a while before answering. "Chiko," she said softly.

Jessica smiled. "I swear I'll come back so don't worry. But if someone tries to take you, I want you to run, ditch the person, and come back here, okay?"

"Chiko," she answered with a smile on her face.

Jessica and Junio turned and headed off to class.

*************************************************

Jessica had Chikorita in her mind all day and couldn't seem to pay attention to the teacher's. Actually, she never paid attention so there was no difference. During break and lunch, Jessica headed over to the library to check on Chikorita and was glad to find her still there, waiting for her. Jessica had spent her free time with the little pokemon and even began to notice other people with their own pokemon. Of course their pokemon were only in the first stage which was no surprise.

All the while Jessica began to wonder what would happen now that pokemon were real. Would kids ditch school and begin their own adventure? Would they try traveling on their own in order to go to other towns and win badges? Would their parents let them? The idea excited Jessica since she had always wanted to have a real adventure. But what about cars? A real pokemon trainer would go from town to town without any parents and win badges by him or herself. They wouldn't go by car but by walking. 

"Everyone please gather around!" a voice suddenly yelled from the quad of her school. Jessica got up from her seat on the stone seat and with Chikorita following her, walked over to where everyone was gathering.

Two men were on the stage. One was young, in his twenties Jessica guessed, with short blond hair, brown eyes, and a dimple on his chin. The other looked no more than sixty, chubby, business suit, rosy cheeks, and gray hair. He looked like a very nice man. He didn't appear serious. The young man was talking. "I want to welcome you all to the new life that will now be filled with pokemon! Be grateful that we've given such a gift to you and we, my father and I, are hear to explain the rules which will be posted in every gym, pokemon center, and pokemon store." He stopped and someone took that opportunity to interrupt. Jessica glanced at who it was but she didn't know him.

The boy was also blond but he was tall, maybe 6 feet if not taller, blue eyes that looked like sapphires, peachy skin, and his hair fell into his eyes. He pushed his hair away while Jessica blushed and turned her gaze away. He had a cute, boyish face. "Are you trying to tell me that the two of you are responsible for the pokemon being real?"

"Yes. It was my father and I that granted this world the blessing of pokemon."

Everyone was quiet before they exploded with laughter. Jessica wasn't laughing for some reason. She felt like that man was telling the truth. She watched the man look at everyone and glare. "You don't believe me? Fine. Then I'll prove it to you." He raised his arms as everyone calmed their laughter and watched with wonder. The breeze began to blow and before we knew it, a humongous Blastoise appeared before them. Everyone cowered in fear but Blastoise did nothing. He just stood and glanced around at his surroundings. Jessica knew that he hadn't performed a magic trick. That Blastoise was real.

The man smiled. "Now do you believe me?"

Everyone nodded, even Jessica who was the only one who believed him. The man cleared his throat and began again. "As I was saying, I want to tell everyone the rules which will be posted everywhere. They are rules about the pokemon which, if they are not followed, will result in many different consequences which I will say after the rules:

Rule 1: Pokemon are not to be used for personal issues meaning that if you disagree with someone, you shouldn't challenge that person to a pokemon battle just to settle your differences.

Rule 2: Pokemon should be treated with kindness and respect. You shouldn't dump a pokemon somewhere and leave it abandoned. If you capture a pokemon, don't treat it badly and don't just abandon it just because it isn't strong enough.

Rule 3: If your Pokemon is in pain, treat it immediately. Pokemon have feelings too. Don't forget that. 

Rule 4: If your pokemon is in danger, do all you can to protect or rescue it. Don't just leave it.

Rule 5: Pokemon are not animals that should be kept in a zoo. Let them roam free and stay away from the ones that you can't handle.

Rule 6: Pokemon aren't any different from animals in science terms. I don't want any scientists to capture pokemon and experiment on them.

Rule 7: You cannot become a trainer until you become 15. Any sooner than that is unacceptable. I know the show says 10 but this is real life. In the mail you will receive a letter asking you if you want to become an official trainer and if you answer 'yes' than you will be able to battle in the gyms and enter the different leagues.

Failure to follow the rules will result in the following consequences:

1: You won't be allowed to train any pokemon ever again.

2: All pokemon will cease to exist and we shall take them away from this world.

3: And for the more grown-up people who want to place pokemon in zoos or experiment on them, they will be caught by the pokemon police faster than you can say one letter. They'll be one you like ants to candy."

He stopped and Jessica found herself smiling at the rules. She was glad the man made these rules, which would prevent people from hurting the pokemon. Now they can be safe. She had forgotten about the pokemon police that Officer Jenny was a part of. She wondered if Officer Jenny and Nurse joy were the ones who would run the Pokemon Police and the Pokemon Center. Jessica wasn't sure if she wanted them to be. Part of her wanted them to be while the other part didn't.

Everyone agreed to the rules and the two men were gone in a puff of smoke along with the Blastoise.

The crowd cleared but Jessica stayed and glanced all around her. She was wondering where the two men had gone off. There was no sign of them. She kept glancing around until her gaze fell on the boy that she saw when she joined the crowd. She saw that he had a Chikorita also.

The boy looked at her with such intensity that Jessica had to look away, her face a little flushed. She bent down to pick up her Chikorita, then she walked off towards the library.

**************************************************

After school, with the heat now gone and the day fresh, Jessica walked home with her Chikorita at her side. While she walked, she kept noticing children battling each other, trying to capture wild pokemon with poke-balls that were given to them, and even some of them were battling with other kids in order to evolve their pokemon.

'I wonder if they have a place where you can get a poke-dex for free' she wondered as she enjoyed the day. She decided to go ask someone if they knew. Luckily, she spotted a kid who had one so she approached him. "Hey kid," she began, "where did you get that poke-dex?"

The kid, with his intense green eyes and long red hair, looked up at her. "Over at the store. There was this blonde guy and an old guy who were giving them out. They said they'd stay there a couple of days in order to give them out. If you didn't get one in that amount of time, then you could get one from the Pokemon Police for about ten dollars."

"What store are they in?"

"Over at K-Mart."

"Thanks kid." Jessica wanted one of those in order for her to train to be what she wanted to be. She decided to go tomorrow and get one. 

*****************************************************

In a two-story house, with his Chikorita sleeping peacefully on his bed, sat Matt, at his desk, writing up his homework. He had come straight home after school instead of going to K-Mart where he heard they were giving out poke-dex's. He had decided he would go tomorrow after school since those guys were going to be at the store for a couple of days. 

Matt was trying to do his homework but his mind was elsewhere. Ever since he saw her, he couldn't get that girl off his mind. After those two men had told everybody the rules, the crowd cleared and he stayed behind because he was wondering where they went. They just disappeared into a puff of smoke. He hadn't anticipated that someone would be as curious as he was.

The girl was also looking around for those men and he was a little surprised to see that she had a Chikorita like him. But what got to him the most was when she looked at him. He knew she didn't look at him on purpose but that wasn't what bothered him. It was the intensity of the stare. She watched him while he watched her and he felt like all time stopped for them so they could have that one little moment.

He had also seen a passion in her eyes that he couldn't quite define since it hidden away from a look of tenderness. She had a look of tenderness in her eyes that he could define. It was as if she was trying to tell him that she would never even dream of hurting the pokemon. It was as if she was some kind of pokemon saint. 

He sighed deeply and was beginning to think that he would never see that girl again until he was comforted with the thought that she attended the same school as him. He would probably see her again.

***************************************************

Just like the two men promised, the rules of the Pokemon League were posted everywhere. They weren't just posted in the pokemon establishments. Everyone knew the rules, and they were going to follow them since the gift the men gave them was the best gift they've ever received. 

Jessica was barely getting out of the house, without Chikorita since Jessica told her to wait for her there, when she saw that the building next to Albertson's was finally complete. Jessica checked her watch and saw that she had a little bit of free time before she had to be at school. She walked over to the building and noticed a boy with shoulder length blond hair of about 15 come out. He had a scowl on his face as a Psyduck followed him with the same look of puzzlement as the one Misty had. 

"What happened?" Jessica asked him as a way of getting some information on the establishment.

The boy stopped and faced her with the scowl still on his face. "I challenged the gym leader to a battle so that I could win a badge but I lost badly." He left Jessica there and continued onward as clouds began to fill the sky.

Jessica was too preoccupied with the building to notice the clouds. 'So that's what this building is. It's a poke-gym. How great! I have one right next to my house!'

With a wide smile on her face, Jessica continued walking to school, enjoying her new life.

**************************************************

"Ugh!" groaned a man in a white suit. The man was slumped over a desk with a computer in front of him. He was still angry about the rules that were placed by those two men but there was nothing he could do. The Pokemon Police would be on him in a second if he tried anything.

The man had wanted so desperately to experiment on the pokemon. All his researching on the white light did him no good but once he learned what happened because of it, he wanted to experiment right away. 

As darkness hid half of his face, he grinned as an idea came to him. He knew what he had to do.

***************************************************

In the morning announcements, the school had made up some new rules all their own, which didn't surprise Jessica. She knew that they would eventually. In the new school rules, they talked about not allowing pokemon battles to take place at the school unless it was for a club, not allowing pokemon on the school campus AT ALL, blah, blah, blah. Jessica didn't listen but she knew she would have to listen to the rules either way.

Like always, Jessica headed to the library where Junio waited for her. She was a bit surprised since he worked break and lunch. He seemed to be really excited about something.

"What are you so happy about?" Jessica asked with a smile. She had never seen him this excited before.

Junio couldn't seem to keep it in. "I caught a pokemon of my very own!"

Jessica sat down at a computer while Junio sat at the one next to her. The library seemed less full than usual and Jessica could guess why. "Which one did you get?"

Junio gave her a look that read 'Which else?' and Jessica knew immediately which one. She chuckled and kept her eyes on the computer. "So you caught a Squirtle huh?"

Junio nodded with excitement and brought out the poke-ball. With a really quiet voice, he told her "He's in here. I intend to leave him as he is, catch another Squirtle, and evolve that one."

Jessica had another question burning inside of her since she knew that Junio was 15. "Did you receive a letter in the mail yet?"

Junio knew immediately which letter Jessica was talking about and he smiled knowingly. "Yup. And I sent it right away too. I told them yes."

"That's great!" Jessica scrolled down the fanfiction page of 'Hey Arnold!', reading the cute fanfiction of Helga and Arnold as she talked. "So what are you gonna do?"

Junio looked away from the computer to look at her questionably. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah. Are you gonna drop out of school and be like Satoshi, going from town to town ON FOOT, training and battling at gyms or are you gonna stay in school, pursue your career, and try to be a pokemon master while still going to school?"

Junio hesitated and thought his answer through. What could he do? This wasn't like the world of pokemon where Satoshi lived. This world was different from his. He doubted he could just go around from town to town and battle at gyms. What about school? Could he really drop out? Would his parents let him?

He turned to look at Jessica who had looked away from the computer and was waiting for an answer. Her face was expressionless. "Well," he began, "I guess I'll drop out of school and go from town to town, battling at gyms. And I won't return until I've become a pokemon master."

Jessica smiled at his determination. She pointed to herself with her thumb. "Well you've got competition because that's what I intend to do. I'm going to sneak out of the house during the night and begin my adventure. I want what you want."

"How about we travel together and try to be pokemon masters together?"

Jessica chuckled softly. "And what if you betray me later?"

Junio made a cross sign across his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Jessica smiled again and nodded. "Alright. I'll tell you later where and when."

Junio nodded as well.

Both were totally unaware that someone was listening to the whole thing.

**************************************************

Jessica had spent the rest of her classes trying to pick out the best day to sneak away with Chikorita and begin her adventure. She considered many things like the problem with money in order to buy food, lodging, etc. and if her grandma would send the police on her. Then there was also the problem with strangers. What if she met some weirdo on the way and he tried to do something to her. Would she be able to defend herself?

It wasn't until after school, as she was heading over to K-mart that she finally had her answer. She would do it! She would risk the danger and hopefully thanks to this adventure, she would be able to find the courage within herself. Jessica had to admit that all her life she was even more of a coward than the cowardly lion. She couldn't talk to boys, she couldn't stand roller coasters, and she couldn't be like those brave girls and just stand in front of a crowd and say what she wanted to say about a certain thing. She couldn't do anything that required courage. She was a total coward. But maybe, thanks to this adventure, she could become a brave person instead of a cowardly person who always had to hide under the bed.

Jessica reached K-mart in no time since it wasn't that far away from the school. She didn't see too many people there, something which shocked her. She had expected a humongous line to be there, all of them waiting for their turn to get their poke-dex. She walked over to stand in the line and noticed about 3 people standing in front of her. There was already someone who was on top of the stage, receiving his bag of goodies like a poke-dex, a medium sized bag of poke-balls which Jessica guessed held about 50 to 100, some pokemon medicine, money (which gave relief to Jessica. Now she didn't have to worry about that) which seemed to total 1 million dollars(!!!!), maybe more, and a note which Jessica didn't know what it said since it was folded and far away. Jessica was glad and amazed that the two men were so generous. 

Jessica decided to ask about the number of people and poked at the back of the person in front of her that she noticed was taller than her, male, and with blond hair.

Once the person turned around to face her, both Jessica and the person were left with shocked faces. Jessica remembered him as the one she saw when the two men were at her school. The one with the Chikorita.

Jessica didn't know what to say. She wanted to speak but no sound came out. It was the boy who spoke. "Yes?" he asked, trying his best to hide the excitement he felt at seeing the girl again. 

"U-um, w-well, I…" Jessica talked since she was blushing terribly and couldn't seem to talk straight.

The boy waited for her to compose herself and his lips curved into a smile when he noticed the blush on her face. It amused, as well as pleased him that he had this affect on this specific girl.

Jessica waited until the embarrassment left her before she began to speak again. "I-I was wondering why n-not that many people were here." Good! At least she was able to get it out.

"Well, I asked around since I was curious too and they told me that it was because people came here yesterday and already got everything." He kept the smile on his face as she turned her gaze away and flushed. "It seems that people are already ahead on their training."

All Jessica could do was nod and pretend like she lost interest in talking with him. She wanted him to think that now that he had answered her question, she didn't really have a need to converse with him any more. But that was far from the truth. In reality, Jessica wanted very much so to continue talking to this boy that made her heart skip and beat and jump to her throat. He had such an affect on her that Jessica was beginning to hate herself for being the type of girl who waited for love instead of going out and getting it herself. But like she had told herself before; it was because she lacked courage and nerve.

The line moved and the boy was forced to advance forward instead. It surprised him to know that all the people had already gone ahead of him and that it was now his turn. It disappointed him in a way as well. He was hoping he would be able to talk with the girl behind him. He had many questions that he wanted to ask.

For Jessica, she was relieved that she didn't have to talk with the boy anymore. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to, but she didn't have the courage. She waited until he was done getting his stuff before she went up on the stage. She noticed that she was the last one in line and that everybody was already gone. She wondered if Junio had already come to get his stuff.

The young man smiled at her as he gave her an empty pink, 'Jansport' backpack. "Welcome to the world of pokemon," he said as he went over and got some items for her. Jessica felt like some kid asking for candy on Halloween and her cheeks flamed. She felt like a fool.

The man dropped the items that Jessica had seen the other man get and the young man explained every item. He told her about the money ("We're VERY rich and we know you children will need the money more than us."), he told her about the medicine ("Ya never know when your pokemon will need it. Just in case a pokemon center isn't available."), the bag of poke-balls ("For when you want to capture pokemon of course"), the poke-dex ("Which will help you to understand the pokemon and it will help you study for the pokemon exam before you battle the Elite Four"), and the note which he didn't tell her what it was about. Actually, the note seemed to be made up of many papers.

Jessica thanked the man and walked off the stage and out of the store towards home. She couldn't wait to start her adventure. She knew she would face many hardships ahead but she knew she had to go through them. Life wasn't supposed to be all that simple.

Jessica was outside and was about to walk home when she felt a drop on her nose. She looked up at the sky and groaned. The clouds were dark, getting darker by the minute, and it appeared that for the second time in her lifetime, Hollister would get a lightning storm. Maybe this one would be even more serious than the last one.

The rain poured heavily about a second later and Jessica decided that she would have to call her grandma so she could pick her up.

She turned around to find a telephone when she was suddenly face to face with the boy again. She gasped slightly and stopped dead in her tracks.

The boy produced an umbrella and opened it up, placing it on top of her head while he smiled cutely. "Need this to get home?"

Jessica stared at him for a second before she shook her head. "N-no thank you. I think I'll just call my grandma. She'll pick me up."

"It's okay. I can walk you home."

Jessica turned her head and debated with herself whether she should just accept his offer or call her grandma. The rain was pretty heavy and she didn't even bring a jacket to keep her warm. It seemed that the more sensible thing to do was to just call. Her cheeks were becoming red from the cold. 

She jumped when she felt the boy slip a jacket around her. It was a very warm jacket which let her know what the boy smelled like: freshly cut grass. She turned to him and smiled without even thinking about it.

Also, without thinking about it, Jessica began to walk with this generous boy who she had just met. The cars raced by them as they walked through the sidewalks and crossed the streets in silence until they reached the front of Rancho which had its parking lot in front of the field where the children played soccer. 

The boy hated the silence after a while and decided it was about time that they introduce themselves. "I'm Matt McConnely. What's your name?"

Jessica hesitated since she wasn't sure if she should tell him her name. She didn't even know him. Her mind seemed to take on a life of its own when she heard herself say "My name is Jessica Hernandez." She didn't want to say her FULL name because she already got enough comments and questions about it. She definitely didn't need any more of them.

"I accidentally heard you and your brother talking in the library about wanting to skip school, leaving town, and beginning your training."

Jessica turned to look at him as she hugged the jacket tighter around her when the wind got a little stronger. Little tiny drops of water would spray on her face and wet her hair as the wind blew the rain sideways. "Why were you listening to our conversation?"

"I was a little curious about what the two of you were talking about." He turned to her and smiled. "It just so happens that I'm going to do the same thing." He turned his gaze away from hers and flushed a bright shade of pink. "I was also kinda wondering if we could all go. The three of us."

Jessica didn't know what to say. Should she accept his offer and let him come with Junio and him? Well it seemed that now that he asked, she would have to say yes since she didn't have the courage to say no. "Sure. You can come if you want. It would be fun to have a third person with us."

Matt looked at her and smiled. He was glad she accepted. Now he could get to know her even better. "So when is it you're supposed to tell your brother when and where?"

Jessica shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't even decided when we're going." She paused to think about it and it seemed that because of his asking her, the idea came to her in a second. "But now that I think about it, I guess we should leave Thursday. I need to get all my stuff ready and it wouldn't be a good idea to leave on the weekend since my grandma takes me to the Cosco."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I also have my mom all over me those two days. She makes me help her do stuff around the house and we talk, which she says is good because it helps us bond."

"I wish I had that kind of relationship with my mom. I can barely say two words to her. After that I have nothing to say. She's always the one to try and get me talking but I'm not much of a talker."

Matt smiled at her as he unconsciously inched closer to her. "You seem like an okay talker. You talk to your brother non-stop and you haven't seemed to run out of stuff to say to me."

"In the case of my brother, I never run out of things to say to him because we always talk about the same thing. We're always talking about television, video games, or anything that makes us laugh. We love that stuff."

"What kind of things in particular do you like to talk about?" he asked as the rain was letting up.

"Well, he's always getting these jokes from a website and he tells me to read them. I do but not all of them are very funny. At least we can talk about RPG games. They're my favorite type of game."

Matt smiled in amusement as a soft breeze blew the remaining rain. "So you're a real gamer huh?"

"Yeah. I love RPG's and won't play sport games unless I play with someone. It's just no fun to play by yourself."

'You and me both' Matt thought. He decided to change the subject and they started talking about their families. Matt had almost forgotten about the comment she made about her mom. He wanted to know what was going on with that.

The sun started to peak through the clouds as the wind finally stopped. The warmth from the sun was good to feel after a cold rainstorm. Puddles were everywhere as children got out of their houses with their little yellow raincoats, and started splashing in the puddles. Birds were chirping and flying through the air like they always did after the rain and the only thing that stayed the same in rain or shine were the cars which continued to drive by Jessica and Matt as they walked towards her house.

*******************************************************

Wednesday was a day like all the others. All the rain from the other day had dried out and the children at school had commented that throughout the entire rainstorm, they thought a lightning bolt would flash. It was the regular conversation that Jessica found idiotic for a bunch of teenagers to be talking about.

Jessica went over to the library before school in order to tell Junio of her plan. He was seated at a computer like the two of them did everyday. He was smiling and Jessica knew that he was reading those jokes again.

The library was like it was everyday. Except that now, all people could talk about was pokemon and even some were bragging about their own. Jessica's life had officially changed. 

She sat down on the computer next to Junio and clicked on the 'Netscape' icon. While it was loading, she turned her head and whispered "I've finally decided on a day to leave."

Junio quit reading and turned to face her. "When?"

"Tomorrow. While everyone's asleep. Get everything ready."

Junio nodded and Jessica felt like she was some kind of spy or something. She also noticed that there were fewer kids in the library than usual.

"So," one kid with wavy brown hair whispered to another kid who was chubby and red-haired, "I'm leaving on the weekend while everyone's asleep. I know my mom won't let me go by myself but you have to do this on your own. It's what a pokemon trainer does in order to become a pokemon master."

"So did Jeff leave already? I don't see him here today."

"Yeah. He left yesterday night. We're planning to meet somewhere so we can travel together."

Jessica understood why there were fewer kids in the library than usual. They were all going on their own pokemon adventure. Jessica should have known. It was so obvious that they would leave for that purpose. Of course she knew that not everybody would leave. Not everybody wanted to be a pokemon master.

She stopped listening to their conversation and instead turned her attention to the computer.

****************************************************

Through the darkened hallways of an abandoned building, a single room with the door slightly open, letting some light stream into the lonely hallway, a meeting was taking place.

The room itself was even sadder than the hallway. It was empty except for a table, some chairs, and an empty cardboard box in the corner. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling. One man stood in front of the table as if it were his desk and many people ranging from 15-40 stood behind it. Every single one of them had a white box in their hands while they waited for their instructions. 

"You all know what to do?" the man with the goatee told them as he finished explaining.

"Yes sir!" they yelled as they saluted like a soldier. All of them left the room carrying their boxes while the man stayed behind and smiled cunningly. 

*****************************************************

After school, Jessica headed straight home in order to pack her stuff. She would need today and tomorrow to do it since she wanted to make sure she was leaving nothing behind. Chikorita helped as well, grabbing clothes into her mouth and handing them over to Jessica. She smiled at Chikorita and stuffed the clothes into the bag.

Jessica had decided she would only take her backpack full of clothes and food so she wouldn't have to waste her money away, her big black duffel bag full of clothes, and her Sailor Moon lunch box filled with her Escaflowne mangas. Jessica was also sure to bring plenty of paper so she could keep and journal of her adventures and be able to write stories along the way.

Once everything was packed and ready, Jessica took Chikorita with her out in order to catch some pokemon. She would need them in order to battle at gyms. Jessica had once said she wanted to be the greatest 'cute pokemon' trainer there was but she still wanted to try to win badges and see if she could become a pokemon master.

The letter that officially allowed her to enter the pokemon league had arrived today and Jessica sent it off immediately with the mail carrier. She wondered how long it would take for the letter to arrive in the hands of the pokemon league.

The day was a beautiful one and Jessica was beginning to wonder what was going on. Some days were really cold while others were really hot. There was a day that was almost 100 degrees while there was another day that was so ugly, and so rainy, she thought it would thunderstorm. But today was not like those other days. The sun shone brightly above the sky, as though protecting the world. Birds chirped happily in the trees while butterflies flew from flower to flower, collecting their daily pollen.

Jessica didn't make Chikorita go into a poke-ball since she wanted Chikorita to be like her best friend. She wanted the same relationship Satoshi had with Pikachu. 

Jessica was mentally trying to remember what pokemon she wanted to capture when out of no where appeared Pichu, the first stage before Pikachu. "Wow!" exclaimed Jessica when she saw her. She stood about 8 inches tall and 5 inches wide. She was all yellow except for her ears that held some black on the tips. She did look like a very baby version of Pikachu. "She's so cute!" She brought out a poke-ball and held it in her hands. "Go Chikorita!"

"Chiko!" she yelled as she ran to stand in front of Pichu, a look of intimidation on her face. Pichu didn't move. Instead, she stood there and gave the same look back to Chikorita.

"Chikorita! Vine whip!" Jessica ordered as two balls of Chikorita's necklace transformed into two long whips that struck the tiny Pichu down. Jessica decided to hit her again or else she wouldn't be weak enough to capture. The tiny Pichu stood up as though nothing touched her.

"Chikorita! Razor leaf!"

"Chi…ko!" she yelled as two leaf came whirling from behind her head, advancing towards the tiny Pichu. She stood defiantly as she took the hits. She just didn't seem to quit.

Jessica decided to use the only other attack she knew. "Use tackle!"

Chikorita went running off towards Pichu and struck her with her head. Pichu went flying and Jessica used this opportunity to capture Pichu. She raised it high into the sky and threw it. The poke-ball struck Pichu slightly and opened up, Pichu becoming nothing more than a gleam of red light.

Jessica watched as Pichu was being sucked inside the ball and she waited patiently while the poke-ball rocked back and forth, indicating that the pokemon hadn't given up. She prayed as her muscles went tight. She hoped she would give up and she would be able to say that she had Pichu.

The little button on the poke-ball stayed red as the poke-ball continued to rock back and forth before finally stopping, the little button turning white.

Jessica allowed her muscles to loosen as she ran over and picked up the poke-ball. "Yes! I caught Pichu!" She turned to look at Chikorita. "Thank you Chikorita! Thanks to you I now have Pichu!"

Chikorita smiled a little weakly as Jessica decided to take both of her pokemon to the Pokemon center.

*************************************************

"Hey Joseluis!" Junio yelled as he ran into his house. He had a simple house with one-story, three rooms, a kitchen to the east, a garage that was connected to the kitchen, and a huge living room with their monstrous TV. On the walls of the living room hung many photos of the family and some were pictures that his mom liked.

Joseluis sat on one of the couches, watching wrestling; something that Junio didn't care about anymore ever since the world became full of real pokemon. He turned to look at Junio. "What are you yelling for?"

Junio held out a poke-ball for him to see. "Do you know what's in this poke-ball?"

Joseluis turned back to watch the TV, not really caring. For him, pokemon being real didn't change anything in his life. "A Squirtle?" he answered lamely.

Junio frowned at him. "No! I caught a Ditto!"

Silence hung in the air for a long time and Junio could tell that he had no interest in what Junio had to say. He gave a growl before leaving and heading over to the Pokemon center so he could heal his pokemon. He was glad to learn that the Pokemon center was free.

***************************************************

It only took Jessica about a half an hour to walk to the Pokemon center since it was near her school and it always took her that long to get to school. It was a little bit beyond the school near the apartments where her mom used to live and Jessica didn't like the idea of it being so far. She definitely would have thought that they would insert the center near the hospital. It seemed like the sensible thing to do.

The Pokemon center didn't appear any different in real life than in the cartoon. It looked like a castle with only one tower and it was painted white and pink. The double doors were made out of glass and they resembled the ones used for business establishments. Just like the gym, it had the pokemon rules posted all over, reminding the trainers about their limitations with the pokemon. Jessica smiled as she walked.

The center was even better on the inside than on the outside. Many people were already there, having their pokemon healed by the nice nurse who, like in the show, was a Chansey. Jessica scanned the center until her eyes widened slightly. The nurse who worked at the center was in fact Nurse Joy! There she was, tending to a sick Pidgey, with her pink ring hair and happy smile. It shouldn't have been such a surprise like Jessica had made it out to be.

"Hey," a familiar voice called from behind. Not really sure if she was right, Jessica turned and found herself face to face with Matt, a lazy grin on his face. "You came too huh?"

"U-uh, y-yeah. I-I came to h-heal my pokemon," she answered, stuttering like crazy. 

"Did you catch any more?" He loved the fact that she was still nervous around him, even though they had gotten to know each other. It showed him that the girl probably liked him more than a friend.

"Yeah, I caught a Pichu," she answered as she brought out both pokemon. She turned and walked over to the counter where a Blissey was.

Jessica smiled at Blissey and handed her the two poke-balls. "Can you heal my two pokemon please?"

"Blissey," the cute little pokemon answered as she took the two poke-balls to the back. The noise of the pokemon center seemed to be rising. Not knowing what to do while she waited, Jessica just stood there, her hands folded in front of her.

Jessica suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around, thinking it was Matt. Unfortunately, it was only a girl of about 5'3". She had long golden hair and blue eyes. Her cheeks were the perfect shade of rose and she had a look of wonder. "Excuse me," the girl began, having an soft English accent, "do you know where the nurse is?" 

"Do you mean Nurse Joy, or Blissey?"

"Whoever runs this establishment," she answered. Jessica could tell by the way the girl talked that she was well bred. She didn't say "hospital", or "building". She said "establishment". 

"Well," Jessica began as she began to point to her right, "Nurse Joy is over there. You may want to talk to her about anything. Blissey is off healing my pokemon right now."

The girl thanked her and headed off to talk to Nurse Joy. 'She must be new in town or something.'

"Blissey!" Jessica heard Blissey yell from the back. She heard a crash and another yell. Jessica gasped as she ran to the back, finding Blissey chasing after the stubborn Pichu that Jessica had captured. Jessica joined in the chase, trying her best to catch Pichu who ran with quite some speed, despite how badly damaged she was. "Come back here Pichu!" Jessica yelled as she chased her.

Suddenly, Pichu's face brightened up as she leapt into the air and landed in Matt's arms. Jessica stopped in front of them as Pichu gave this look to Jessica that read 'He's mine!' Although it was strange, Jessica couldn't help but feel a jolt of jealousy. She shrugged off the feeling and held her arms out towards Pichu. "Come on Pichu. Now that you're healed we should go."

Pichu shook her little head as she snuggled closer to Matt. Matt only laughed. "It seems your Pichu likes me."

"But she's my pokemon." She still had her arms stretched out towards Pichu as someone else came into the room.

"Jessica?" a-way-too familiar voice called. Jessica turned towards the door and smiled. "Hey Junio. What's up?"

Matt also turned to look and when he saw Jessica smile at this boy and actually admit to knowing him, it was his turn to feel the jolt of jealousy. "Who's that?" he asked Jessica in a cold voice.

Jessica walked over to Junio and swung her arm over his shoulder's, making Matt all the more jealous. "This is my brother Junio." She turned her gaze to Junio. "Matt's the one who will join us on the adventure."

Both Matt's and Junio's eyes widened. "What?!" they both said in union.

"He's coming with us?" Junio asked in disbelief, pointing to Matt.

"That's your brother?" Matt said at the same time as Junio. Both turned and just stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Yes Junio, Matt is going with us, and yes Matt, that's my brother," Jessica said, answering both of their questions at the same time. She actually enjoyed the scene that was taking place.

Nurse Joy made her entrance before anyone else could say anything. That same girl from before was standing right behind her. Jessica noticed that once she saw Junio, she blushed, smiled, and turned away. It struck her as odd but she smiled and decided it was high time to play matchmaker.

Nurse Joy did not look pleased. Her hands on her hips, she said, "What is the meaning of this children?" Although she was yelling, her voice was still soft and low.

Jessica stepped forward. "I'm sorry Nurse Joy. It was my-"

Matt interrupted her. He stepped forward as he still held onto Pichu who was now asleep. "No, it was my fault." He held out Pichu. "This little pokemon started to make some trouble since I haven't trained it all that well. I'm sorry."

Nurse Joy's face seemed to lighten a bit as Jessica stared at Matt, shocked beyond words. 'Why did he take the blame?' she wondered. Another part of her was shocked because he said that Pichu was his even though that wasn't true.

"Well," Nurse Joy began as she lowered her arms and let them hang loosely at her sides. "At least no one was hurt. But you'd better train that Pokemon. I wouldn't want her to cause any problems in any other center."

Matt saluted. "Yes ma'am."

Nurse Joy smiled as she walked over to Blissey and helped her up. Both walked out of the room. Jessica frowned and walked over to Matt, holding her poke-ball up and putting Pichu back in it. The girl from before walked over to Junio and they began to talk. "Why did you say that?" Jessica asked with just the right amount of accusation and hurt in her voice. 

Matt scratched his head in nervousness. "Sorry. I didn't want you to take the blame."

"But it was my fault. I'm supposed to take full responsibility of my actions. No one else should take the blame for something I did."

"Okay," Matt said as he put his palms out in front of her, indicating that he gave up. "I'm sorry."

Jessica sighed and looked down towards the floor. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I really appreciate you trying to help me out and all but like I said before, I need to take responsibility of what I do."

"Okay," Matt said, nodding, "I understand." He liked that feature about her. She obviously would do what Matt did if it was someone else. She probably wanted to take the blame for everything.

Screams that sounded like Nurse Joy and the other people of the center were heard coming from the main room. All four of the people in the back room headed over there and once they got there, they saw that the room was suddenly full of purple smoke.

Laughter was heard coming from two people as the smoke started to clear. "Prepare for trouble!" one voice, female, yelled out.

Jessica coughed once she had entered the room, but once it started to clear, her cough wasn't as bad. 'Oh great' she thought as she had her hands over her mouth. 'It's Team Rocket. I didn't think they would become real.'

"And make it double!" another voice yelled, male and deep. By then, the smoke had cleared completely and Jessica was able to see who the two people were. One, as she had already guessed, was female, with long strawberry blonde hair that reached her knees. Her eyes were blue like ice and the stare was just as cold. She donned the same Team Rocket uniform as Jessy from the show. The other was male, cute, and tall. He had black, unruly hair that had bangs in the front. His eyes were brownish and warm; the complete opposite of the girl's. He wore the same clothes as James from the show.

"Cut the speech!" Jessica yelled to them. "I already know what you guys want and you're not going to get it!"

Both laughed pleasantly. "How dare you ruin our surprise," the girl said in a soft, southern voice. She didn't seem to be very kind. She was mocking Jessica for heaven's sake! "Don't you agree Alex?"

Alex, the other Team Rocket goon, nodded. His voice was in a regular American accent. "Yeah. It's just terrible." His gaze seemed to be fixed on Jessica. She blushed and turned away.

Matt saw the blush and decided to take his anger out on the two. He brought out a poke-ball and threw it. "Go Snorlax!"

The ball opened up and in a flash of white light, a humongous pokemon of about more than 2 tons came out. He was semi-asleep but that didn't mean that he couldn't battle.

"Well," the girl said, "looks like we have ourselves a ho-down. Go Metapod!"

In the same way that Snorlax came out, Metapod came out. Jessica took one look at it and started laughing with all of her might. Everyone joined in the laughter while Matt looked at the Metapod as if to say 'Is she serious?'

The girl growled at Jessica. "What's so dang-blasted funny?!"

"Is that the only pokemon you have?" Jessica managed to get out as she laughed. "Everybody knows that the only attack Metapod has is 'Harden'."

The girl growled again. "Send out your pokemon Alex. We need to teach this girl a lesson."

Alex nodded as the girl whispered something to him. She ran outside and Jessica had to make herself stop laughing in order to follow her and see what she was up to. The cold, crisp air hit Jessica like a punch since she was still used to the warmth of the Pokemon Center. "Where do you think you're going?" Jessica asked coldly, all the laughter gone.

"That's none of your concern!" The girl ran to a ladder next to the pokemon center and started climbing it. Jessica scanned the roof to see what it was she was going to do but she couldn't find anything. She walked over and climbed the ladder as well.

Jessica peered over the edge once she reached the top and she saw the girl carefully and quietly lifted something and Jessica realized that she was going to open the skylight. Jessica scanned the roof again and saw a humongous vacuum machine that (Jessica figured) was going to suck up all of the pokemon from the people.

"No!" Jessica yelled as she ran over to the girl and tried to mess with the controls, thinking she could over load it.

"Leave it alone!" the girl yelled as she slapped Jessica away. A hand went to Jessica's cheek as she felt that it had gotten warm from the slap. Luckily, the cool air that blew cooled it down. Jessica growled as she approached the machine again.

Everything seemed to happen so fast, according to Jessica later. She heard the wood of the roof creak as it broke apart, sending the girl, her machine, Alex, his pokemon Bellsprout, and the girl's Metapod flying. As for Jessica, since she was so close to the machine, she was knocked over off the roof and she gripped her eyes, waiting for the impact of the fall. She waited for a couple of seconds before she decided to open her eyes. She found herself in Matt's arms as he looked down on her with concern. Junio and that girl with the blond hair were also there, concern clearly written on their faces.

"Are you okay Jessica?" Matt asked as he set her down softly.

"Y-yeah," she answered as she felt her heart beat fast from not only the fall, but also from being caught by Matt. She looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

He smiled back as Nurse Joy approached them. "I want to thank you for saving our pokemon Matt. You were able to stop them from being captured."

"Hey, I don't deserve all of the credit. Jessica helped as well. She stopped that girl from taking our pokemon."

Jessica shook her head. "I don't deserve any credit. I barely even did anything."

Nurse Joy nodded, as if thanking Jessica although she had said that she didn't deserve any credit. All walked back into the warmth of the pokemon center as the four of them stayed behind. Matt seemed to have noticed the red mark on Jessica's cheek. He got it right away. "That girl hit you didn't she?"

Jessica unconsciously placed her hand over her red cheek as she blushed. "I-it's okay. It didn't even hurt." In order to change the subject, she turned to the blond girl. Jessica smiled at her, thanking her for her concern. "We haven't even met have we?"

"O-oh, right." The girl curtsied and in her English accent, said, "My name is Rose Darling. I am new in town. I just recently moved here from England."

Jessica held out her hand. "I'm Jessica Hernandez. I'm pleased to meet you Rose." Rose smiled and shook Jessica's hand before turning to Junio. "You still have not told me your name."

Junio gave this 'oh man' look and sighed while a light breeze blew. "Fine. I'll tell you my name. I'm Uriel DeAvila Jr. My friends call me Junio but you can call me Uriel. Are you happy now?"

Rose appeared a little hurt as she understood what he meant by that last thing he said. Jessica grabbed him by the arm and took him out of hearing range. She glared at him as menacingly as possible. "What is your problem?"

"What?" Junio seemed to be giving the defense.

"Why were you so rude to that girl? She was only trying to be friendly."

"Look, I have no interest in that girl. She obviously has a crush on me but I don't even like her."

"But that doesn't mean you can be nasty to the girl. Be nice and make her understand that you're not interested in her in that way."

"Fine. I'll be nice to that girl. But you have to promise that you won't get all 'lovey dovey' with that Matt guy."

Jessica blushed as she felt the anger in her build. "We are not 'lovey dovey'. We're only friends okay?"

"Whatever." Junio walked back to the two and suddenly noticed that Rose was gone. Part of him was a little disappointed while part of him was glad. He shrugged of the feeling of disappointment as he glared at Matt who didn't seem to notice. 

"Okay," Jessica began as she placed her two poke-balls into her pocket. "So tomorrow we head off towards our adventure. We had better get home and get some rest." She looked up and fixed her gaze on Matt as people began to leave the center. "I'll see you tomorrow Matt."

"Sure. I'll see you then." He walked off, leaving Junio and Jessica behind. Jessica turned to Junio. "Do you have everything ready?"

"Yup. I also went to the store and got all that stuff from that man."

His smile went wide. "It's cool to have one million dollars."

Jessica looked towards the sky jokingly. "I know what you mean." She looked back at Junio. "So I'll see you tomorrow then, in front of "The Wok". We'll leave from there and head to the nearest town with a gym, training along the way."

Junio nodded as he said bye and headed home, excited beyond words that he was going on an adventure. Jessica had the same feeling as she walked home. Her long time dream was about to come true.

*****************************************************

"Fools!" screamed the middle-aged man with the goatee as he slammed his palms on his desk. The darkness of the office hid half of his face. He was using a picture telephone and on the screen were two figures.

"Wear sorry sa," the girl with the strawberry blond hair said in her southern accent, having a slight tone of fear. Behind her was a boy with unruly black hair who was looking up at the sky. He had his hands in his pockets, as he looked pensive, the breeze blowing his hair to one side.

"Listen Angela," the man said a little calmer, "I sent you and Alex on a mission and I expect the two of you to be able to fulfill with that mission."

"You don't understand sa," Angela complained. "There was this girl and a boy who ruined everything. They-"

"Enough!" he yelled as Angela shrunk back. "I don't care what some girl and boy did! All I want you and Alex to do is capture pokemon! Do you understand?"

"Yes sa," Angela answered softly. She heard the click and knew that he hung up. She sighed and placed the receiver down. 'I'm going to get that girlie for this!' Angela thought with anger as she remembered the brown-haired little witch. She walked back to Alex who turned to look at her. "What did the boss say?" he asked.

"He's a little mad at us since we didn't get those dang blasted pokemon. He didn't even hear me out when I told him about that boy and girl who put a halt to our plans."

At the mention of the girl, Alex looked up at the sky. "I didn't even get her name," he said softly.

Angela saw that star-struck gaze and frowned. "Don't tell me ya like the girlie?"

"I might."

Angela folded her arms in front of her. "Ya're a dang blasted fool!"

"Why? Because I like a girl who hit you and embarrassed you?"

"Yes. You like a ninny who has puddin' for brains."

Alex snickered. "You don't even know her. She obviously stopped us because she knew that what we're doing is wrong."

"It doesn't matter if what we's doin' is wrong or not. As long as we get paid we shouldn't ask questions. This here job is good money."

Alex brushed past her and headed over to the air balloon that they had seen on the show. Only their balloon was shaped like a regular balloon with rainbow colors. "Is that all you think about? Money?" he asked as he climbed in the balloon.

"A course. What else would there be to think about?" Angela answered as she climbed in after Alex. Butterflies flew by as they set the fire going and began to rise into the air.

"What about love?" Alex asked.

Angela gave a 'humph'. "Why would I think about love? Love is a frivolous thing. And it's stupid."

Alex only shook his head as he turned his gaze back to the sky. 

**************************************************

It was the last day of school for Jessica, Junio, and Matt as they grew increasingly excited about the trip they were about to embark on. The day showed no signs of rain and Jessica was glad that the days were going back to normal. All the days had been as pleasant as this one.

At break, Jessica saw Rose sitting by herself so Jessica went over to say hi. "Why are you sitting alone?" Jessica asked as she noticed that Rose was reading a teenage romance book.

Rose set the book down slowly and looked up. She was wearing a uniform that Jessica guessed was from her other school. It was sapphire blue, the shirt part having a white sailor knot tie at the next, and the skirt blue like the top. "I don't have any friends yet," Rose said, answering Jessica's question. 

Jessica sat down across from Rose. "Aren't I your friend? And Matt too?"

Rose slightly smiled. "Yes, but there's one person who isn't my friend."

"Ah, you mean my brother. Don't worry about him. He's just a little mad at girls right now because of what happened with his girlfriend Sherry. I bet he'll soften up if you're near. I think it would do him some good."

"You'll help me to obtain him as a friend?"

"Of course! And I have the perfect way for you to do it. You join us on our adventures."

Rose gave this puzzled expression. "'Join you'? 'Our adventures'?"

"Yeah. Tonight, while our families are asleep, Matt, Junio, and I are going to sneak out of our houses and run away on a pokemon adventure. We know our families won't allow us to go if we ask so we're just going to have to run away. And we want to get a head start so that's why we're leaving at about 11:00 p.m. tonight. You should join us. It'll be fun."

Rose hesitated, really thinking this through. Maybe this would be the adventure of a lifetime. She had never had any freedom, what with servants always tending to her. And Rose did want to train the pokemon she captured in England. Plus, she could help with the expenses since her family was so rich. She smiled and nodded at Jessica. "Alright. I will go with the three of you."

"Great!" Jessica exclaimed as she stood up. "Do you have a pokemon?"

"Uh-huh. I have a Butterfree."

"That's an excellent pokemon. Especially since it's in its third stage."

The bell rang and the kids started to return to class, fewer kids on campus than usual. "Well," Jessica started. "We'll see you tonight. Meet us near "The Wok" at eleven sharp. We'll leave once everyone's gathered."

Rose nodded as Jessica walked away to class. Rose hugged her book as people walked by. Not only was she going to have fun on this trip but she was also going to get to spend some tie with Junio. 'This trip sounds promising' Rose thought as she walked to class.

*****************************************************

The night promised many things that night. The owls hooted and the night bugs flew through the sky like birds. A million twinkling stars covered the black blanket sky like diamonds. It was one of the many nights when children sneaked away from their houses and headed out for their great adventure. They took bags with them, carrying only what they would need for the trip of a lifetime. They were all hoping the same thing: to leave the boring everyday life and have some fun. From now on, the world belonged to them.

Jessica climbed out of her bedroom window and slowly made her way out onto the street. The cool air welcomed her as she came outside. Before leaving, she looked one last time at her house, the place where she had lived all her life, and then proceeded to walk to "The Wok". It was quite a walk and Jessica knew she had to be careful about with the weirdo's on the street. They lurked behind every corner.

Jessica smiled as the excitement in her grew. She was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Never in her life would she get an opportunity like this one. She was too excited to think about anything else as she walked through the town of Hollister. Cars passed by and Jessica even ducked when she saw any sign of a cop. She couldn't let them get her if they were in fact after her. She doubted it though. It was still much to early to. Her grandma wouldn't realize she was gone until sometime at 9 and by then, Jessica and her team would be long gone.

The streetlights made the town glow in the night as Jessica rounded a corner and continued walking towards the meeting place. She was almost there, she could tell. She was near the "Ranch Milk" gas station that was near the McDonald's. "The Wok" wasn't too far away. The moon was out and it lit the earth like a lamp. Jessica saw her shadow follow her as though the sun was out.

Jessica was started to wonder what her trip had in store for her and the other three people who were going with her. They would face many hardships, and even grow up because of the many dangers. They would come back to Hollister as new, totally changed individuals. Everyone will be so proud of them.

Finally, Jessica saw "The Wok". It was just up ahead and the only one there was Rose, who wore a huge pink jacket and a scarf. Next to her were about three bags. One was her backpack, the other a clothes bag like Jessica's, and the third a tiny bag with who-knows what. Jessica approached her with a smile. "Hi Rose. It seems you actually go here at eleven sharp eh?"

Rose nodded. "That's the time you said for me to come is it not?"

"Yeah. And I'm glad I can count on you to be punctual. It doesn't seem to be the case with two missing boys."

No sooner had Jessica said that, than Matt and Junio. Matt had come first and only about a minute later, Junio. Jessica playfully grinned at him. "What took you so long Junio? We we're about to leave without you."

"Sorry," Junio said as he set his two bags down. One was his backpack (which everyone seemed to bring) and the other was his clothes bag that wasn't any bigger than his backpack. "It's just that I got nervous, leaving and thinking that they were going to catch me." He looked at Rose but decided not to say anything about her joining them. He already had to put up with that Matt guy. No point in making it worse by fighting with the new girl from England.

Matt clapped his gloved hands together and began rubbing them, as if trying to keep them warm. "So, how about we leave and get as far away as possible before anyone notices we're gone."

"I agree," said Jessica. "If we don't go now, the grown-up's will notice that we're gone. We need to make good time by leaving now."

Junio's face brightened up. "How about we get a little head start by taking the train that runs through here. All we have to do is climb on one and wait for it to leave."

Jessica rubbed her chin, considering it. It would be a good idea to get ahead. They probably wouldn't be able to get all that far anyway by just walking. "Alright," she answered, agreeing with the idea. "We'll take the train and get a good head start. Plus, we can sleep on the train. If we walk, we'll go slow; plus, we won't be able to sleep. We do have a big day tomorrow, I'm sure."

Everyone agreed and they began walking towards the train station. It wasn't really a train station. It was just a place where the trains were loaded. If it were a train station, then people would be able to board without having to hide.

The train station wasn't all that far from the restaurant and the four of them were lucky enough to discover a train that was being loaded at that very moment. It was already started up and the announcer was telling them conductor that it was time to leave. Jessica and everybody thought this the perfect opportunity to board the train and they just chose any boxcar.

All four climbed inside, making sure not to be caught, and once inside, the slowly closed the door. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see.

"Don't worry guys," a voice that sounded like Matt's called out. "I have a flashlight. I came well prepared." Jessica heard some shuffling of Matt's things before the light came on. It wasn't a flashlight but a lamp. 

Jessica gasped as she saw her surroundings. They stumbled upon the boxcar with clean pillows everywhere. There were pillows of pink, yellow, blue, and any color that people could think of. Jessica ran over and plopped herself on many pillows. "What luck we have! To stumble upon the pillow boxcar!"

Everyone else also lay themselves down on the soft, warm pillows an before anyone knew it, they were asleep as the train pulled out of the station, heading towards Sacramento, its last stop. That was where they would have to get off.

*****************************************************

The lights turned on in a room as the door opened and a woman in pajamas came out of her room. She trudged by a room, thinking a certain person was there. The room so was so quiet and the woman made sure not to disturb anybody. She entered the kitchen from the hallway and checked the time on the clock. It read 9 o'clock. 

'Didn't she go to school?' the woman thought as she headed up the hallway again. She stopped at the door across from hers. Knocking softly, she called out, "Jessica!" Silence was her only response.

She frowned angrily and took out her keys. Finding the right one, she unlocked the room and entered the tiny room with its Sailor Moon posters hanging on the wall. The woman turned her head to the bed and saw that Jessica wasn't there. Slight worry hit her as she went inside her room and woke up her husband. "Hey! Did you take Jessica to school already?"

The man, with his slightly bald head, turned to her with groggy eyes. "No. Can't you see that I've been sleeping."

Now the woman panicked. She went as quickly as possible to the kitchen and dialed the police's phone number.

"Hello?" said a man on the other line.

"My daughter is missing!" yelled the woman in spanish.

The man switched over to spanish in order to talk to the woman. "Where was she last?"

"In her room."

The man slightly laughed. "Ma'am, we've had cases like this ever since those little animals called 'Pokemon' became real. Every mother in every town has reported a missing child. And all left during the night, sneaking away from their parents in order to become Pokemon Masters. You're daughter probably did the same."

"Why would she want that? She loves school. She would never run away for something like that."

The man sighed, obviously seeing that there was no point in arguing with this woman. "If it makes you feel any better, we'll search for her. But we can't guarantee that we'll bring her back. If she really is traveling in order to become a Pokemon Master, then the law says we have to leave her alone. We can't force her to go back home."

"Who made up that stupid rule?"

"The people who made the pokemon real. They made the rules and we have to obey them." The man paused as his voice became softer. "Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine and she'll stay that way. We'll find her and ask what motive she had for running away."

"Thank you."

The cop got the girl's descriptions and then hung up in order to tell his buddy to be on the lookout for that girl.

*************************************************

The sun peaked through the sky as the train finally made it to Sacramento. The town itself was ten times bigger or more than Hollister and, being the capitol of California, it was also very beautiful. It kinda looked like a cross between San Francisco and Washington DC. It had its share of political buildings as well as train stations (something it was famous for) and cars seemed to pass by like lightning.

The train made at a halt at the "Morrison trainway" and the loud whistling from the engine woke everyone up. Jessica sat up and rubbed her eyes as she checked her silver watch. "It's barely 7. I was hoping we would go farther so I could sleep more."

She turned her head when she heard everyone else waking up. She smiled. 'What a bunch of lazy people.'

Matt walked over to the door and peered through the crack. "So this is the town where it all begins huh?"

Jessica got up and joined him. "Yeah. I wonder in which town we stopped at." She turned back around and saw Junio and Rose picking up their bags. Jessica nodded in agreement. "We should go before they discover we're here." She walked over to her own bags and picked them up. "Can you open the door Matt?"

"Sure." Matt walked over to the door and pushed it open with all his might. It didn't take much might to open the door. He tried to open it slowly and he succeeded but the conductor saw him open the door. He blew his whistle. "Hey you kids!" he yelled, sending everyone running immediately. The man ran after them but he didn't have enough energy to catch up. He stopped not to far from where he started and yelled after them as they rounded a corner. "I'd better not see you kids around here again!"

Everyone ran until they couldn't run anymore and stopped a couple of blocks away from the train station. The sun was already beating down on the town, making everyone sweat. Jessica looked behind her as she breathed. "I guess…we lost him."

"Yeah," Junio answered as he rested his palms on his knees and breathed labored breaths. "I guess our next form of transportation will have to be on something else."

"Not necessarily. Sacramento has lots of train stations. We can just go to another one and hop onto a train there."

"How do you know that?" Junio asked with doubt.

Jessica smiled. "I researched it in the internet."

Rose's face brightened as she thought of something. "How about next time we take a train that takes passengers? That way we'll know where it's going."

Jessica smiled. "Great idea Rose! Besides, we need to go as far away as possible and I think that another state will do just fine. From there we can walk the rest of our adventure."

"Well," Junio began, "if we're going to walk the rest of the trip than I highly suggest that we buy camping equipment."

Everyone nodded and walked around, looking around for one of those souvenir shops. Sacramento, everyone discovered, was a very friendly city. Jessica had even stopped a man and asked if there was a pokemon gym nearby. The man politely said yes with a smile on his face. He even told her on what street it was on, giving her directions on a piece of paper.

The souvenir shop wasn't all that far from where Jessica had stopped the man. It was only a block down and Jessica had bought the map with all of Sacramento on it. 

"You all pokemon trainers?" the kind woman with boy short blonde hair who looked in her forties asked.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, we're going to the pokemon gym so we can compete against the gym leader," Jessica answered as she handed the woman a five dollar bill. 

"Well, I might as well warn you that the gym leader isn't easy to beat. So far, nobody has been able to beat him."

Jessica gaped. "He isn't for beginners?"

The woman shook her head. "He's the last gym leader from the Pokemon league. He's only for experts. You can only beat him once you pass the Pokemon exam. If you do in fact beat him, you win the pokemon league."

"And you become a pokemon master right?" Junio asked, not believing that they were in the wrong town.

The woman merely laughed. "Heaven's no! There's still the Orange league and the Johto league. And I think there are more leagues after that. Becoming a pokemon master isn't easy."

Jessica's brows deepened in suspicion. "How do you know all of this?"

The woman looked at Jessica before she smiled. "Because the gym leader is my brother."

"He is?" they all asked.

The woman nodded. "But don't worry, there is a gym that is for beginners. It's not to far from here. My brother's gym is farther so the first gym you come across is the beginner one. And you'll like the gym leader. He's really nice and not too old. He's about your age."

They all thanked her and headed over to the gym.

Jessica brought her hand to her head while Junio held the map. He was voted Mr. Direction Giver. He would be just like Brock. "I should have known that there's more than one league. Almost everything from the show is real. Even Team Rocket." At the memory of Alex, the one who kept looking at her, Jessica flushed.

Matt noticed this and his hands clenched into fists. He tried to calm his anger down by remembering about his family and wondering if they even missed him.

They arrived at the gym, and when they did, Junio and Jessica were shocked to see Javier come out of the gym, a smile on his face. He obviously noticed them because he was heading towards them.

"Hey Junio," he mocked. He turned to Jessica. "Hey Jessica."

"What are you doing here Javier?" Jessica questioned.

Javier's smile widened as he brought out a shiny blue badge. "I beat the gym leader."

"What?!" both Junio and Jessica said in union. They hadn't expected Javier to try and become a trainer.

"Smell ya later!" he called a he left, laughing in the process.

"Who was that?" Rose asked as she stared at Javier's retreating form.

"That was our brother," Jessica answered. Now it seemed that the last role was filled. Javier would act as Gary, trying to beat them at everything. This didn't please Jessica one little bit.

"Wait a minute!" Matt interrupted. "Isn't he too young to join the pokemon league? Don't you have to be 15 at least to join?"

"Hey!" Junio said. "Now that you mention it, it is kinda weird. You have to be 15 at least and Javier is barely 13. There is no way he can join. Unless…" He stopped and Jessica decided to continue his thought.

"Unless he has some kind of connection that allowed him to join."

The breeze blew, sending Jessica's hair to one side. She turned around and entered the gym, lost in thought. Everyone followed without another word.

Okay, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this. I'm working on a bunch of other stories, plus, I'm studying for finals so I'm pretty busy so I hope I can get the next part out soon. It all depends on how busy I am. E-mail me if you have any questions. I really hope you enjoyed this.

[Sailormoon2050@hotmail.com][1] See ya later!

   [1]: mailto:Sailormoon2050@hotmail.com



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